My phone rings for a third time.
“Fucking fuck shit goddamn it—”
I clear my throat and pick it up.
“Hi, Mom,” I say. “Right now’s not really a good—"
“MAVIS BRESLEY!” my mother exclaims, right in my ear.
I jerk the receiver away, my heart already sinking, and glare at Daniel.
“I just had to find out from MAVIS BRESLEY that you’re engaged to Daniel Loveless, you couldn’t even tell your own mother? I didn’t even know the two of you were dating, you didn’t say one single word about it and then I hear from MAVIS that you’re engaged and getting married and—”
She takes a breath. I already feel like dirt, even though for once, the disaster isn’t my fault.
“Mom,” I say quickly, squeezing my eyes shut, the back of one fist to my forehead. “Listen, Mom, I know this seems sudden but it’s actually not a good—”
“We’re so happy for you,” she interrupts.
I freeze, a lump suddenly forming in my throat. I clear it away.
“Thanks, but it’s kind of a complicated situation,” I say, my eyes still closed.
You see, I’m going to kill Daniel, I think.
“There’s been a mis—"
The phone is lifted from my hand, and before I can react Daniel’s leaning back in his chair, the phone held to his ear.
“Hi, Mrs. McManus,” he says, smoothly.
I grab for my phone as subtly as possible, trying not to make a scene in this cafe. I’m pretty sure it’s not working.
“Can Charlotte call you back in a minute?” he asks, his eyes boring into mine. “Today didn’t quite go as planned and we’re still ironing out a few details.”
I make another lunge, but Daniel just grabs my wrist and lowers it to the table. God, he’s got strong hands, and he covers mine with his and puts them both on the table, next to our empty plates.
“Of course,” he says, into the phone. “And, Mrs. McManus, I’m so sorry about this. It’s not at all what we intended.”
I kick him under the table, though not too hard. He frowns at me.
“She’ll call you back in a few,” he finally says. “Thank you.”
At last, he hangs up my phone, puts it on the table, and just looks at me. He hasn’t let go of my hand. I haven’t tried to wrest it back, even though my heart is threatening to burst out of my chest.
“Two months,” he says.
“Insane,” I tell him.
“The case will be over in two months, maybe less,” he says. “Then it’ll all be over, and we’ll tell people we’re breaking up—”
“You. Are. Crazy,” I whisper. “Everyone will know that this is some bonkers story, no one is going to believe us—"
“Shirley believed us,” he says.
I stop short, blood rushing through my ears.
Then I shake my head.
“I can’t lie to everyone I know!” I say, quieter this time. “I can’t lie to my mom, and my sister, and all my friends. You sure as shit can’t lie to your brothers.”
“Charlie,” he whispers. “Please. I’m fucked. If they find out that I lied they’re going to take her to Denver, and… I can’t.”
“Remember when Eli thought that no one knew he was banging Violet?” I ask.
“This is different.”
“It’s not,” I say, but my voice is suddenly unsteady. “I’m a bad liar. You’re a bad liar. Everyone will know and it will only make it worse.”
He gives me a desperate, pleading look that stabs me straight to my core.
I take a deep breath and stand my ground anyway. I know, deep in my heart, that this is way too crazy to work.
“Doubling down on some crazy lie isn’t how you fix things,” I say. “Look, just — tell people we broke up, or tell people that there was a misunderstanding, or tell people you got flustered and confused, I don’t know.”
“Think about it,” he says, his hand still on mine. He squeezes a little tighter. My chest constricts to match it, and I ignore it.
Then he gives me a look that nearly stops my heart.
It’s raw. Searing. Searching. Pleading. I feel like I can see straight through to the bottom of his soul right now, and I falter.
“Please?” he asks, his voice low, private.
I hesitate for the first time, my hand in his. I hold my breath.
I want to say yes. I do. I know that if he loses Rusty, it’ll destroy him, and I’d do anything to keep that from happening.
And I don’t hate the idea. We’ve been best friends since we were eleven. Daniel knows me better than anyone. I’m friends with his brothers. I’m his kid’s cool aunt.
Except that this won’t work. I know it won’t work, because it’s crazy. Somewhere, deep down, Daniel must know it too, that doubling down on a lie isn’t the way to solve his problems. Just because Shirley believed a rumor doesn’t mean anyone else will. It doesn’t even mean she’ll still believe it next week.